Jesus Christ is JOY

I hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving! Samantha invited us over for a thanksgiving lunch and we all sat on the floor and ate baked beans and creamed corn casserole! It was so fun. I love them so much. The kids kept saying "This is the best thanksgiving ever!!" I was grateful to be a missionary. One of the kids, peyton, said "I told God and Jesus not to let me have a bad dream till I was 30 or out of college". HAHAHHAHAHHA I'm glad they are learning how to pray :) 
Then we went to another members house for dinner but by the time they were ready to eat, we had to leave to go to another members house. Luckily we got to eat there. (Mom, I miss your cooking) 

We taught the restoration lesson to 3 of the people we are teaching this week. One of them was raymond. We have already taught him this lesson, THREE times. When we first started talking about it, he didnt even know who joseph smith was hahahhaha. But he FINALLY understood and you could tell that everything just CLICKED in his brain!! The spirit was SO strong. He finally understood that the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is literally CHRIST'S CHURCH restored on the earth once again. He came to church with us on sunday and we walked up to his car and he rolled down his window and told us HE FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON that morning!! He loved it, even though he wont admit it. Stubborn as always. But he had a good experience at church as well. We are excited for him! It is so cool to see how much his heart has softened from when we first started teaching him. 

The common theme of my week was JOY. In a dictionary, the definition of joy is "a feeling of great pleasure or happiness" but the guide to the scriptures defines it as "a CONDITION of great happiness, that RESULTS from righteous living". It is not just an emotion, but a gift and a state of BEING and BECOMING. My family has a quote hanging on our wall at home that says "Jesus Christ is JOY". As we strive to become more like our savior, we will receive that everlasting joy! David A. Bednar said "The Redeemer is the ultimate and only source of enduring and eternal joy". Sister glenn pointed out that in the guide to the scriptures, the ONLY synonym for joy is OBEDIENCE. I know that the only way we can obtain true joy, is through keeping the commandments and honoring our covenants. Our level of obedience brings our level of joy! 
John 15: 10-11 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you that my JOY might remain in you, and that your JOY MIGHT BE FULL". 

I love being a missionary and sharing the key to true joy with others. Alma 26:11 "Behold, my JOY is full, yea, my heart is brim with JOY, and I will REJOICE in my God". 

All my love, sister b